Ulster County Legislature OKs shift of Safety Net welfare costs

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- In a move called "historic" by some, Ulster County lawmakers have approved a resolution that puts the county on track to take over the cost of the Safety Net public assistance program from municipalities.

Legislators on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution under which the county would assume one-third of the local share of the program from the towns in the upcoming year.

The vote advances a plan laid out by county Executive Michael Hein in his proposed 2013 budget under which a complete county takeover of the Safety Net program costs would be phased in over three years beginning in 2013.

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Currently, Ulster is the only county in the state that requires its municipalities to pick up the local share of the welfare program, which provides aid to childless adults and those who have reached the five-year limit on federal assistance. The program also is partly funded by the state.

Over the years, there have been attempts by some members of the Ulster County Legislature to shift the program's entire local cost to the county, but the issue always was controversial, pitting municipalities with a high number of aid recipients, like Kingston, against those where few Safety Net recipients live. However, with a Legislature weighted heavily in favor of those representing municipalities outside the city, the efforts always have fallen short.

Increases in the amount of assistance given to those in the Safety Net program, and, more significantly, a move by the state to increase the cost-sharing formula from the historic 50-50 state-local split to one that calls for the local government to pick up 71 percent of the costs once again moved the issue to the front burner.